


Derek Hale: Baby Whisperer

by aussiebee



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Babies, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Fluffy as hell, M/M, No Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-02-13 09:12:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12980856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aussiebee/pseuds/aussiebee
Summary: Somehow, Stiles is unsurprised that Derek is great with random babies. That doesn't mean it's not cute as hell.Or that it's really working for him.





	1. Derek Hale: Baby Whisperer

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: one of my fave people in the world is the middle-aged, utterly ginormous bearded dude who took my ten-day-old for a cuddle in line at the supermarket when he was utterly losing his shit and put him to sleep in about six seconds flat. He still babysits my kids, sometimes :)
> 
> This utterly indulgent fluff was inspired by that encounter.

The first time it happened it was the most literal kind of accident. Stiles had managed to draw Derek out from the loft and into  _ Brewed Awakening _ on their way to the Sheriff’s Department, and they waited patiently in line behind a pair of sleepy-eyed college kids, a suited businessman and a couple with a very small, very fussy baby in a pram.

Stiles and Derek stood side-by side, shoulders brushing in companionable silence as they waited, Stiles yawning and Derek just shifting slightly when the husband of the couple turned away and stepped out of the line to answer a call. The line continued to move until the woman in front of them scooped the now-seriously crying baby up and began rummaging around the oversized nappy bag for her purse.

“Here, can you take him, babe?” she said suddenly and kind of half-turned to pass the little bundle to a startled Derek who did exactly that, instinctively cradling the tiny baby against his chest, one big hand under his butt and the other carefully cupping the back of his head.

“Uh,” Derek began, staring at Stiles with comically huge eyes.

Stiles just shook his head slightly, unable to look away from big, bad Derek Hale snuggling a baby close as though he was born to do it.

“Shh,” Derek murmured softly, shifting his weight back and forth as he rocked a little, and to Stiles’ amazement, the baby began to settle, rubbing his face back and forth against the soft cotton of Derek’s plain white tee.

“Oh,” Derek said softly, staring down at the downy little head that was pressed against him, his expression soft and unguarded for the first time since Stiles had known him.

“Is he  _ oh my god _ ,” the baby’s mother said as she turned and realised that she’d handed her child off to a stranger instead of his father, like she’d thought. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were Tim... wow, is he actually asleep? How did you  _ do _ that? Jack never sleeps, I swear, and I couldn’t even tell you the last time I managed to sleep through the night-”

“I can hold him for you,” Derek blurted out suddenly, a blush colouring his cheekbones as he glanced down at the soundly-sleeping Jack and then back up at his mother with hope clearly shining on his face. “While you have your coffee, I mean. That way you can enjoy your coffee and have your hands free for a while and-”

_ "Yes!” _ There was no hesitation and perhaps an unseemly amount of excitement in the woman’s voice as she agreed to the offer. “I mean, if you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“No, I really don’t,” he replied softly, his thumb moving slowly over one perfect, tiny ear.

“Go, sit,” Stiles instructed quietly, “I’ll grab our drinks.”

He ordered and watched in wry bemusement as Derek and the new mom settled in at a table together, her watching Derek in outright amazement, him apparently unable to look away from the baby as they made awkward conversation.

It wasn’t often that Derek allowed himself to express emotion other than anger, frustration or… anger, and to see it now, especially directed at a  _ baby _ was almost more than Stiles could handle. He’d read the police report, knew that there had been some young kids in the Hale fire, and for the first time Stiles wondered just what kind of a person Derek would be, what his life would have been like had the fire never happened. Would Derek still have had a nurturing instinct? A family of his own by now?

The barista placed their order on a tray, including the mom’s coffee, and Stiles carried it over to the table, sliding a coffee in front of Derek, and one in front of the woman, as well as a dessert plate with a blueberry muffin and a slice of carrot cake.

“If you’re going to have your hands free, you’d better make the most of it,” Stiles told her when she looked confused.

The pleased smile that Derek shot his way made something in Stiles’ chest clench, and he tried to hide his own answering grin behind his coffee. “I’m Stiles, by the way,” he said to the woman in an attempt to distract himself from Derek’s general state of attractiveness.

“Amanda,” she smiled in return, shaking Stiles’ offered hand. “My husband is Tim, and that’s little Jack.”

“He’s gorgeous,” Stiles said, angling his body closer to Derek so he could look down at the perfect little face sleeping peacefully against him and admire the tiny snub nose.

“Luckily for him,” Amanda said with a wry, exhausted grin, “because he doesn’t sleep, and I’m slowly going crazy.”

“Looks like Derek’s got you covered on that front,” Stiles smiled.

“He’s a miracle worker, I swear,” she agreed readily. “I mean, do you know how long it’s been since I’ve gotten to sit down and just enjoy a coffee? Or how long it’s been since I even got to drink a hot one, let alone finish it?”

“Aren’t they amazing?” Derek breathed softly, utterly besotted.

“Yeah, they are that,” Amanda agreed, reaching out to stroke a single finger over the back of the tiny hand clenched into a fist under Jack’s chin. “Oh hey, Tim- look at this!” she said excitedly when her husband returned. “Derek here got Jack to go to sleep in less than a minute, I swear.”

“So, are you available for babysitting?” Tim chuckled as he settled in next to his wife and took a drink from her cup.

A heartbreaking wistfulness crossed Derek’s face before he forced his face back to its usual passivity, and Stiles found himself speaking before he could control his tongue. “Maybe we could swap numbers and come watch Jack for you some time? I mean, you don’t know us from Adam, but we could hang out at your place and keep an eye on him for you while you sleep or cook or whatever, or we could maybe meet you out somewhere and keep him while you guys have a meal, maybe?”

The look Derek shot Stiles was a lot less pleased than the previous one, but Stiles ignored him in favour of watching Tim and Amanda exchange a complicated look, the tense set of his shoulders relaxing a little when Amanda turned back to him and smiled.

“This is weird, right?” Amanda asked, her eyes flicking between them and Derek’s chest where Jack lay sleeping.

“Yeah, probably,” Stiles agreed cheerfully, then gestured at Derek with a careless wave of his hand. “But you can’t argue that the results speak for themselves.”

That morning saw Derek leave with Amanda and Tom’s phone numbers, and a tentative coffee date for the three of them set up for late the following week. Stiles couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Derek so happy, enough so that he couldn’t even bring himself to tease him about it.  
  


 

The next time it happened was about a month after the first. Derek had gone over to babysit Jack a few times, and it was Amanda he ran into again whilst in Wal-Mart one Tuesday afternoon, this time without Jack, but in the company of a frazzled-looking blonde woman with a small baby whimpering in a carrier against her chest.

“Derek!” Amanda said, surprised. “Hi!”

“Hey, Amanda,” he smiled tentatively. “How’s Jack?”

“He’s doing great- oh hey, Jodie, this is Derek, the guy I was telling you about! He’s an absolute miracle worker with Jack.”

“Oh god, could you work your magic with Charlie?” Jodie asked, only half-kidding.

“I could have a go, sure,” Derek agreed, perhaps a tad too eagerly, but after a reassuring nod from Amanda, Jodie unclipped the carrier and lifted the newborn out, kissing his forehead as she passed him to Derek.

Checking carefully when he settled the baby against his shoulder, Derek was pleased to find no pain that needed drawing away, so instead he just smoothed his hand up and down Charlie’s back slowly and rhythmically, letting the little boy snuffle against him before sighing contentedly and promptly passing out.

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Jodie breathed, wide-eyed in surprise. “You weren’t exaggerating.”

“Dude,  _ eleven pounds of Nutella!” _ Stiles exclaimed as he came around the end of the aisle with the cart, the only thing in it the enormous jar and not the items they had actually made the trip for _. _ “Isaac might actually jiz- oh, hey Amanda! Friend of Amanda. Teeny tiny little newborn baby oh my  _ god _ ,” he breathed, eyes lighting up when he saw the little bald head lying against Derek’s chest.

He wasted no time in crowding into Derek’s space, one hand on the small of his back while the other came up to gently caress the baby’s head. “How are you even so small, little baby?” he cooed quietly, the heat of his body like a brand against Derek’s side.

“Guys, any chance we could impose upon you while Charlie sleeps?” Amanda grinned, watching the way Derek’s eyes flicked back and forth between Charlie and Stiles. “Trust me, Jodes, he’s in the best hands.”

Jodie looked too relieved to finally have a sleeping child to do more than just nod bemusedly, allowing herself to be led away as Amanda told Stiles that they’d just be at the cafe next door if Charlie woke up.

“Oh, here, let me take that,” Stiles said suddenly, reaching out to take the bag from Jodie’s shoulder as she turned to go.

“Are you sure?” the blonde asked, but given the way she was eyeing the exit like a woman about to flee the country, she clearly didn’t mind too much. “Want the carrier, too?” She had it off and pressed into Stiles’ hands before he could agree, and he twitched up a grin as the two women left at a clip that couldn’t rightly be called a walk. He waved reassuringly when Jodied turned to look over her shoulder once, but the choked noise Derek made immediately after had him turning to throw the baby bag and carrier into the cart and return to his side.

“What, is he waking up?” he asked, checking the baby who remained sound asleep.

“They think we’re lovers,” Derek murmured, his cheeks slightly flushed. “Jodie thinks you’re… attractive.”

_ ‘Hot as hell’, actually,  _ Derek thought to himself, then felt amusement curl through him as he realised that this moment was the first time he’d ever seen Stiles genuinely speechless, but those intent eyes snapped from his after a moment and a wide grin split his mouth.

“Of course she does,” Stiles said with a confidence Derek knew he didn’t truly feel. “I’m a babe.” He shook off the sudden awkwardness of the moment before smiling fondly at Derek. “It suits you, you know. You look good with a baby.” He cleared his throat and jerked a thumb over his shoulder as he cast one last look over Derek and Charlie. “Shall we get this shopping done?”

Derek nodded and pressed his nose briefly to Charlie’s head before following Stiles as he chattered away and filled the cart.

  
  


The third time it happened Stiles wasn’t even surprised. He glanced up from where he was texting in line at Walgreens to find Derek grinning as a chubby-cheeked toddler leaned far over her long-suffering father’s shoulder to tug on Derek’s sideburns with both hands.

He lifted his phone and snapped a photo, getting Derek in profile with his smile evident as the kid babbled happily. She swatted at Derek’s mouth and he pretended to snap at her fingers, making her jerk back with a startled laugh and then stretch to do it again.

Almost as though it was happening in slow motion Stiles watched as the little girl planted her feet on her father’s chest and boosted herself further up in an attempt to get at Derek, only to overbalance and fall over the back of her father’s shoulder. The dad turned with a look of horror on his face and made a wild swing to catch her, but Derek was already there, the little girl safe in his hands as he tossed her gently up in the air to distract her from the fright of having just almost face-planted into the floor.

“Jesus,” the guy breathed, his face regaining its colour in a pink rush. “Thanks, man. Wow- I’ve never seen Emilia take to a stranger like that before.”

“Yeah, Derek has that effect on kids,” Stiles grinned wryly.

The other guy’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re the baby whisperer!” he said excitedly. “Holy shit, man, Jodie was telling me all about you! She said she’s never seen Charlie so settled since you started watching him, and that kid is fussy like you wouldn’t believe- we hear him crying all the time, poor kid.” He shrugged at Derek’s curious look as he settled Emilia on his hip so she could explore his eyebrows with curious fingers. “We’re neighbours, and we all have young kids, so word gets around.”

Stiles laughed. “Well, it’s all true, you know. Kids just love the big guy.”

“I can see that. Bill Hutchinson,” he added, holding out his hand for each of them to shake. “Whatever you’re doing, keep up the good work, yeah? The moms of Beacon Hills are all thanking you for it.”

Collecting his daughter with a dropped bottom lip and eyes that filled with petulant tears at being separated from her new favourite person, Bill bade them farewell as he made his way through the register.

Derek watched them go, then startled slightly when Stiles bumped their shoulders together. “Why don’t you have one?”

The shock of longing that coursed through him at the suggestion made Derek ache, but he ruthlessly trod the want down. “Tried once,” he said, holding up his hands to make rabbit ears with his fingers, “but the law apparently frowns upon the ‘unlawful misappropriation of extreme minors’.”

The look on Stiles’ face was priceless, eyes wide and jaw slack. It was only when a betraying twitch of Derek’s mouth gave him away that Stiles began to laugh, a huge guffawing thing that seemed to rumble up from his toes and drew the attention of everyone in their vicinity. Derek was certain he’d never seen anything so effortlessly beautiful in his life, and it felt like a punch in the chest.

  
  


The first time anyone but Stiles was around to see it was hilarious.

The monthly pack meeting at  _ Jimmy’s _ found Derek and Stiles there early and sitting in companionable silence as Derek read the paper and Stiles researched on his phone ( _ thank you Jimmy for the free WiFi) _ . They had been spending more and more time together of late, and not only for research purposes.

Truth be told, ever since they had managed to close all the doors and set the Nemeton back to slumber things had been a lot quieter than usual on the home front. Stiles had even found enough time to begin helping other packs in their search for answers against their own local problems, sort of a supernatural hotline to call in case of emergency. Derek loved seeing Stiles relaxed and enjoying his research for a change, instead of stressed and reading for his life. For all their lives.

“What’s  _zničit_ mean? ” Stiles asked absently as he scrolled.

“Uh, what language?”

“Czech, I think.”

Derek frowned and thought about it for a moment. “Break?  _ To _ break, maybe?”

“To destroy?”

Derek nodded. “Could be.”

They lapsed into silence again, Stiles smiling his thanks when their waitress refilled their mugs.

Then Derek pulled his phone from his pocket and frowned as he answered. “Lisa-May?” Stiles frowned as Derek halfway shoved to his feet. “I’m not home, I’m at  _ Jimmy’s _ with Stiles… what? Oh no, I’m so sorry… yeah, of course. Just bring his milk, I have diapers and spare clothes and stuff in the car… Okay, see you soon.” He frowned and put his phone away again. “Lisa has to go to the hospital- Jeff’s had some kind of accident at work and she doesn’t want to take Leo in with her, so she’s going to drop him off here until she knows what’s going on.”

“Shit, I hope Jeff’ll be okay,” Stiles said, concerned.

“Yeah, me too. Did we have anything else on today?”

“Even if we did, I’d reschedule,” Stiles told him, his tone firm and his eyes soft. “I know Leo is your favourite.”

“I don’t have favourites,” Derek refuted immediately.

“Except for Leo,” grinned Stiles. “It’s okay, I won’t tell the other babies.”

Scowling at Stiles was second nature at this point, but it was getting harder for Derek to do with any real intent behind it. Mostly because he was right, of course. Sweet little Leo, with his huge tea-coloured eyes and pert little nose, his ready smile with two tiny teeth on the bottom and his fists which held onto Derek’s finger  _ so tightly _ , like he never wanted to let go.

The fact that with his colouring he had a passing resemblance to Stiles did not factor into Derek’s favouritism at all.

Lisa-May found them less than ten minutes later, pressing distracted kisses to both of their cheeks before doing the same to Leo with promises to stay in touch. Leo, whose entire face had lit up as soon as he’d laid eyes on Derek, couldn’t have cared less that his mother was leaving.

“Call if you need anything, okay?” Stiles said firmly, pulling Lisa into a brief tight hug. “And take your time. Derek loves Leo; it’s no problem to keep him as long as you want.”

“You guys are the best,” Lisa said gratefully. “There’s a couple of bottles with expressed milk in there, but if you need more, the formula is fine. He ate about half an hour ago, so he should be ready for a nap around nine thirtyish.”

“No worries,” Derek smiled, supporting leo with a hand on his back as the baby pushed back to look into Derek’s face delightedly. “We’ll let you know how he goes.”

As Lisa left, Stiles got into the booth next to Derek and laughed over the way Leo tracked Derek’s every move with his eyes. “He’s in love, dude.”

“I think it’s just the eyebrows,” Derek admitted, exaggeratedly raising and lowering the hair in question and smiling when Leo cracked up laughing.

“Nah, you’re just smart like your Uncle Stiles, Leo, aren’t you? You know a good thing when you see it.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in but by the time they did, Stiles already had an arm around the back of the seat and was taking a selfie of the three of them: Leo with his hands on Derek’s mouth, Stiles with a beaming grin, and Derek with his head slightly turned to stare at Stiles, something broken wide open and shockingly vulnerable on his face.

“Definitely a keeper,” Stiles murmured to himself as he looked at the picture, turning off his phone’s screen before Derek could see it.

The familiar rumbling of Jackson’s car announced his and Lydia’s arrival, followed by the others a moment later. They all greeted each other in the parking lot and Derek watched them through the window before turning to Stiles with something like wickedness in his eyes.

“Don’t say anything,” he warned Stiles as the diner door swung open. “Trust me.”

“Okay,” Stiles agreed without hesitation, his instant compliance making Derek hesitate.

“Stiles, when you have a minute-”

“Dudes, where did you get the baby?” Scott asked as the rest of the pack pulled up short, varying degrees of surprise, skepticism and confusion on their collective faces.

“Let Stiles be an example of the need for safe sex,” Derek said solemnly as he turned Leo to face everyone. “Met Leo. Stiles’ son.”

Stiles’ choking inhalation of breath was the only sound to disturb the group, the rest of them stunned into silence as they looked between Stiles and Leo as though trying to parse it.

“That’s not how I’d’ve chosen to break the news,” Stiles managed to gulp out, hiding his mirth behind his mug as he took a long sip, “but surprise?” He shot an evil grin at Derek and decided to get payback. “But I want you all to know that Derek has just been  _ amazing _ , and he’s agreed to step up and be co-daddy with me, just so Leo has a stable home life, you know? Not that two parents a stable home make, I mean- look at me! My dad did it mostly on his own and I turned out great! But I figure with our general situation being what it is, it can’t hurt to have an extra someone on my side.  _ Our _ side, now,” he added, reaching out to run his hand over Leo’s head, the kid cooing happily at the touch.

Still nothing from the peanut gallery, so Derek just dropped a kiss to the top of Leo’s head before passing him to Stiles. “It’s all very sudden, we know, but this really has been a long time coming and we wanted you guys to hear it from us, first.”

Erica was the first to break, her eyes lit up and a squeal that was almost supersonic curling around them. “Are you fu-uh...freaking kidding me?” she demanded, dropping into the booth opposite Derek. “That is the cutest kid I have ever seen and you guys… holy shit it  _ took you doofuses long enough!” _

Derek froze, because  _ what? _ But to his surprise, Stiles didn’t seem to be. Surprised, that was. Instead, he was staring intently at the baby in his lap as Leo tried to pull the hood strings of Stiles’ hoodie into his mouth.

“Babe, I want one,” Erica said, and Boyd just grinned in what seemed like full agreement.

“Don’t even think about it,” Lydia told Jackson firmly, eyeing the blond as he was still to take his eyes off the baby.

Scott and Kira were still holding hands, as were Allison and Isaac, both of them looking distinctly nervous, until Derek finally cracked a grin. “We’re messing with you; we’re just babysitting for a friend.”

“Oh thank  _ god _ ,” Scott exclaimed, squeezing in beside Stiles to grin at Leo. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, bro- you’ll make an awesome dad one day, but today is not that day.”

Stiles held Leo up so he could stand on his thighs with his pudgy little feet, the little boy looking delighted with himself, and said nothing.

The rest of the pack settled in, but Derek could tell from the way the easy languor that had previously allowed Stiles to press close to his side had disappeared that something had changed. He slung an arm around Stiles’ shoulders and tugged him a bit closer, breathing in the familiar and reassuring scent of him and lifting his eyebrows in question when Stiles glanced at him.  _ You okay? _

_ Talk to you later _ , Stiles’ lips quirked in silent answer.

Looking back on that moment, that moment with Stiles holding a baby that looked so much like him, strong and incredibly  _ present _ by his side, eyes warm and steady, Derek wouldn’t be able to put into words the feeling that crept over him, or explain why he did what he did.

He smiled at Stiles, eyes flicking down to his mouth as Stiles’ smile widened and became happier in response, then tilted his head slightly, leaned over and pressed their mouths together, easy as that.

There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation before Stiles began kissing him back, his lips parting slightly for them to fit together even more perfectly, still smiling against Derek. It was over in a matter of seconds, but it was perfect; even better than that, it was a promise.

And somehow, Derek realised, it had gone unnoticed by the rest of the pack. Stiles’ cheeks were flushed but he hid it by pulling Leo close and pressing kisses all over his little face and Derek busied himself with drinking no coffee from his empty mug, his grin almost too wide to hide.

  
  


Derek was woken from his nap later that day by footsteps approaching the door, and he rolled carefully out of bed, ensuring he didn’t disturb Stiles or Leo who were still asleep next to him. He scrubbed a hand over his face as he padded across the floor to pull the door open before Lisa-May could knock.

“Derek, thank you so much,” she began, but paused when Derek held a finger up to his lips as he beckoned her inside.

“Stiles and Leo are sleeping,” he murmured, keeping his voice pitched low. “Want a drink? Tea, coffee, water or juice?”

“I’ll take the thickest, darkest coffee you have,” Lisa sighed as she followed him through the loft to the kitchen area, dropping her bag onto the table before dropping into a seat.

“How’s Jeff?” Derek asked, finishing up with the coffee machine and sitting opposite her.

“Not as bad as first feared,” Lisa told him, relief evident in her voice. “Nasty break to the leg, but no pelvic fractures and no spinal involvement, thank god.”

“That’s great news.”

“Yeah, it is,” Lisa smiled tiredly, her dark brown eyes exhausted but no longer panicked. “Seriously, though- thank you so much for having Leo for me today. I wish you’d let me pay you for your time, or take you guys out to dinner or something.”

Derek heard Leo begin to stir, but stayed seated when he heard Stiles roll over and kiss the baby. “I don’t know how much you know about me,” Derek began slowly, “or what you know about my family-”

Lisa reached out and placed her hand over his. “I know enough.”

“Then you might know that…” He swallowed hard. “There were children in the fire. My younger siblings, and a few cousins. Babies.” The pain that always came with thoughts of the lost babes seemed a little less sharp, this time. “Getting to spend time with Leo-- that’s its own reward.”

Listening to Stiles talk to Leo as he changed him and got ready to bring him downstairs, Derek smiled a little to himself. “I don’t know why babies like me, but I like them because they’re uncomplicated. They’re honest, and sweet and they are unapologetic about who they are and what they want.” He got to his feet and began making their coffee, as well as a mug for Stiles, before handing Lisa hers.

“All I ever wanted, as a kid, was to have a family,” Derek confessed as Stiles entered the kitchen, Leo on his hip. He met Derek’s gaze and his smile was blinding, beautiful with his sleep-mussed hair and somnolent eyes. “I wanted to find that one person who was made for me, that I was made for, and I wanted to have kids. Two, five, ten… it didn’t matter to me, that was my childhood dream.”

Stiles kissed Lisa on the cheek and handed Leo over with a degree of reluctance before coming around to accept his cup and smooth his thumb carefully over Derek’s jaw as he did so.

“Getting to look after all these babies, it’s like wish fulfilment for me. Is it the dream I had as a kid? Not exactly, but it’s damn close. So no, I won’t accept payment, not from you or anyone, because  _ you’re _ doing  _ me _ a favour.”

Derek felt Stiles’ hand slip into his own and brought it up to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it, watching as his eyes darkened with want.

“So basically what Derek’s saying is that you have a babysitter absolutely any time you want or need one,” Stiles smiled, leaning back against the bench next to Derek, their hands still entwined.

Lisa grinned at them both. “Be careful who you tell that to, you might end up with your own daycare.”

Derek looked momentarily stymied, making Stiles snort a laugh. “Are you trying to deter him? Because I don’t think that’s quite worked the way you hoped.”

Getting to her feet to rinse her cup and collect Leo’s bag, Lisa smiled at them. “Well, if you ever get around to it, you can sign me right up,” she promised. “But for now, let me get this little monster out of your hair. Thanks again, guys.”

“Our pleasure,” Derek assured her, leading her to the door to let her out. “Give either of us a call if you need a hand with Leo, or when Jeff comes home, okay?”

“Will do. Bye, Stiles!”

“Bye Lisa; bye Leo.”

Derek closed the door behind them and returned to Stiles, stepping right into his space and crowding him back against the counter.

“That was some pretty extreme emotional bloodletting,” Stiles murmured, sliding his hands around the back of Derek’s neck.

“I’m all about the personal growth,” Derek agreed. “I don’t know, I guess I just realised that for the first time in a long time I have the chance to really make a life for myself, on my terms.”

“Self-realisation is incredibly sexy,” Stiles murmured.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhmm. You should tell me more about all these kids you want to have.”

Derek hesitated. “Is that sexy too?”

Hooking a foot behind Derek’s knee to knock him off-balance and spinning them so their positions were reversed, Stiles leaned forward to mouth at Derek’s throat. “You know what I find incredibly sexy? You, mostly, but specifically? You communicating. You with a baby against your chest. You daring to let yourself want things. The way you look at me like I’m the greatest thing you’ve ever seen. But picturing you, happy, with a house full of kids all calling you ‘Daddy’? Pretty much the definition of sexy, not gonna lie.”

It started off teasing, but by the time Stiles had worked his hands up underneath Derek’s shirt to press his hands flat to the muscles of his back it held an odd weight. “If you wanted a hundred kids,” he promised, “I’d find a way to make that happen for you.”

“Stiles,” Derek murmured, his heart feeling too large for his chest to contain it.

“Enough of the mushy shit,” Stiles sighed after a moment, his mouth still doing incredible things to Derek’s throat. “Wanna bone?”

Groaning out a laugh, Derek allowed himself to be dragged into the bedroom, pulling Stiles against himself as they fell back onto the bed together. Stiles wasted no time in drawing Derek into another kiss, sliding one calf up and over the back of his thighs at the same time as he hooked an elbow around Derek’s neck to keep him close.

The heady rush of emotion, the delicate not-quite-scent of pheromones, the definite scent of arousal and need and lust, the way Stiles’ fingers threaded through his hair in an unpredictable rhythm-- all of it served to drive Derek out of his mind. He found himself mindlessly grinding down against the hard line of Stiles’ dick where it pressed against his, and the unconscious jerk of Stiles’ hips suddenly became almost overwhelming.

Derek sat back on Stiles’ legs, his eyes wide and heart pounding, and drank him in, all reddened mouth and hooded eyes as he sprawled out for Derek to drink his fill.

“The things you do to me,” Derek murmured as Stiles smirked up at him, big hands coming to rest on Derek’s thighs.

“Looks like the same kind of things you do to me,” he replied cheekily, staring pointedly at Derek’s crotch and then his own before reaching forward to flick open the button on Derek’s jeans with one hand.

“Jesus,” Derek hissed, watching Stiles’ clever fingers draw his zipper down and brush against his cock.

“Tell me what you need,” Stiles murmured. “Tell me how to make you feel good.”

“All of it, everything,” Derek promised, jerking his eyes up in confusion when Stiles’ hands stopped moving.

“I mean it,” Stiles said seriously. “I'm terrified of fucking this up, so I need you to tell me what to do. What not to do.” He smirked suddenly. “And feel free to be explicit about it.”

Goosebumps ran across Derek’s shoulders and he felt his face heat. “Your hands on me,” he managed to get out before having to flick his eyes away. “Touching me wherever. No nails, though, and no pinching.”

Leaning forward a little, Stiles slipped his hands under Derek’s shirt and up over his belly. “Like this?” he asked with a faux-innocent tone as he reached higher and stroked over Derek’s nipples with his thumbs. “What else?”

Derek shivered and nodded, reaching down to tug his shirt off so he could see, the contrast of Stiles’ fairer skin against his own darker torso shockingly arousing. “You-- your body on me, your weight holding me down, maybe. But never by the back of my neck, Stiles, I can't…”

“Shh, never that, I promise,” Stiles murmured, making sure Derek was looking him in the eye when he did. “What else?”

Swallowing convulsively, the click of it loud in the otherwise quiet loft, Derek stared at Stiles’ face, his hand coming up to tentatively cup one cheek as his thumb smoothed the skin beneath his bottom lip. “Your mouth,” he whispered, his own mouth turning dry as Stiles turned to nuzzle into his palm. “God, your mouth on me anywhere, everywhere,  _ please _ \--”

The desperation in that last word was too much for Stiles and he surged up, taking Derek’s face in his hands to kiss him almost senseless, their bodies pressed as closely together as was possible with Derek sat in Stiles’ lap.

There was nothing tentative or hesitant in Stiles’ kiss, or the way he handled Derek’s body. He tore his own shirt off before pressing their mouths together again, hands busy between them to get them both out of their pants and held firmly together in one of Stiles’ hands as he reached blindly for one of Derek’s to help him.

“Fuck, look at how beautiful you are,” Stiles sighed contentedly as he slowly moved their hands up and down their cocks, guiding Derek through their mutually-assured pleasure. “We look so good together, Derek, we fit so well. Do you know what a rush it is to know that this,” a tricky swirl of his hand over sensitive heads wet with precome to make Derek arch his back and thrust his hips further forward, “the fact that you're so hard and so wet, is because of me? Is  _ for _ me?”

Their foreheads pressed together, the space between them hot and sweaty, the way Stiles seemed to be keeping his touch deliberately too light to really get Derek where he so desperately needed to go was maddening. “I need…” Derek began, inhaling sharply when Stiles firmed their combined grip, “I need more, god, more of everything, Stiles.”

“Yeah, me too,” Stiles replied breathlessly, sliding his lips along Derek’s cheekbone to his ear, then further back to tease the sensitive skin of his throat with the tip of his tongue. “I don't want to stop, not ever. Want to watch you come undone for me. Want to see your face when you come, taste the way my name tastes on your lips.”

_ “Yes,” _ Derek groaned, his head dropping back as his eyelids suddenly seemed to become too heavy to keep open. He could feel his orgasm building, the way his balls were tightening and beginning to draw up, making his toes curl in anticipation.

“Later, will you let me taste you?” Stiles asked breathlessly, his heart rate increasing as his own climax crept closer. “Will you let me make you feel so good with my tongue, with my mouth?”

“Stiles,” Derek groaned in warning, his cock jumping as he felt Stiles grin against his throat and press his teeth there; not biting, just  _ there. _

“Can I, Derek? Can I take my time sucking your dick, touching every part of you while I do? Sliding my fingers inside you to find that one perfect spot?”

The imagery those filthy words conjured up was so vivid and perfect that Derek felt his knees draw close around Stiles’ thighs, felt his abs tighten and was helpless to do anything but clench his teeth before he'd even fully registered that he was about to tip over the edge. His orgasm tore through him, sharp and as unexpected as a punch to the gut, his come striping hot and viscous over their combined grip.

“Oh my god, that's the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life,” Stiles grunted with a punched-out laugh tinged with disbelief. He used his free hand to draw Derek’s mouth to his once more and kissed him slow and deep until he came too, his mouth open and panting against Derek as he shuddered his way through the aftershocks of his orgasm.

They clung to each other like that until their hearts slowed and their breathing evened out, the late afternoon sunlight limning them in gold and dust motes winking like stars around them.

“I meant what I said,” Stiles murmured eventually, cradling Derek’s face in gentle hands. “When the time comes-- when you want to start a family, add kids to the pack-- we'll make that happen. Just say the word.”

Derek closed his eyes and enjoyed Stiles pressing lingering little kisses to his chin and the underside of his jaw. “I've gotten pretty lucky with the family part so far,” he said softly, hoping his eyes were conveying just how  _ much  _ he was feeling, “but kids? Babies?” The tentative hope he had only just begun to allow himself blossomed, unfurling quietly within his chest. “I can't wait to have that. With you."

It wasn't phrased as a question, but Stiles heard it all the same. The glowing smile he gave Derek felt like a reward, and the way his careful hands pulled him close once more felt like all the answer he needed.


	2. Daddy Daycare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Stiles comes home to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a little carried away in the comments, and by request have added them as a separate chapter. Unbetaed, unpolished comment!fic, so please excuse any errors.

Stiles was exhausted, couldn't remember feeling much tireder than this his entire life, but the closer he got to home the more uplifted he became. He began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he pulled into the long driveway, making sure not to speed no matter how much he wanted to put his foot to the floor. He grabbed his duffle and threw himself out of the jeep to jog up the porch steps, avoiding a stack of Duplo, a plastic trike and a tangled clump of ribbon spiderwebbed between the two outdoor chairs blocking the door.

He stopped for a moment, head cocked and listening for any noise within the house, but it was oddly quiet. Just as he reached into his pocket for the keys, the front door swung open and all the breath in his lungs seemed to escape him in one sharp exhalation. He felt like all of his Christmases had come at once, all wrapped up in a deep purple tee and faded jeans.

"Hey you," Derek smiled, his eyes creasing at the corners.

"Hey," Stiles grinned back, his fatigue gone. "You have a little something..." he gestured vaguely to all of Derek, just admiring the sight of the guy covered in kids.

Derek rolled his eyes indulgently. "Katie's teething-"

"Again?" Stiles asked, coming into the house and taking the blonde six-month-old from Derek's hip and settling her on his own, kissing her head as he did so.

"Still," Derek winced. "And Finley and Jess have both had a rough few nights."

"Hey, babies," Stiles breathed, kissing the infants strapped to Derek's back and torso, identical sleepy heads resting comfortably against Derek in their carriers as they were soothed in their sleep by his steady heartbeat. He caught movement and glanced down as a little hand wrapped around Derek's knee, followed by a shy face and a tangle of deep red hair. "Hi, Gen," he said softly, crouching down.

"Hey, 'tiles," the little girl, Genevieve, whispered around a thumb, shy behind Derek but wanting to go to Stiles.

Stiles just held out his free arm and she bolted for him, flinging her arms around his neck and nuzzling into his throat as he stood, knees cracking, and held her close. "I seriously cannot get over the fact that Lydia and Jackson somehow managed to have a kids who's shy," he said to Derek.

"Still smarter than you, though," Derek snorted.

"Not the point," Stiles returned snippily. "Where are the others?"

"Start of the holidays," Derek reminded him. "This is it for today."

"Oh, right," Stiles grinned. "Does that mean-?"

"The house to ourselves tonight? You know, I think it does," Derek chuckled quietly, watching fondly as Gen began to squirm to be let down to fetch one of the many (so many) My Little Ponies scattered around. Stiles set her on her feet, Katie starting to drift off against his shoulder as well, before taking a step closer and sliding his hands around Derek's waist, careful not to disturb either of the sleeping babes. "Should we go out for dinner?"

"Nah, we can cook better than anywhere close by."

"Movie?" Derek asked, familiar with this game.

"Nothing showing that's worth watching."

"Clubbing?"

"Not in the mood to have to chase all the barflies off you," Stiles said, his tone feigning casual disinterest.

"Moonlight stroll through the forest?"

"Not in the mood to get eaten tonight, sorry."

"Well," Derek murmured, leaning forward a little so his mouth was pressed right up against the shell of Stiles' ear, "that's a shame, given the plans I had for you once the kids are gone."

Stiles knew Derek could feel the slight shiver that rippled through him at the dark promise in those words. "Maybe some fresh air would do us good," he grinned, tilting his head for Derek to press their mouths together.


	3. Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has a bad day where he doubts his parenting abilities. Derek makes it better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment!fic posted as a separate chapter by request- unbetaed, unpolished, please excuse any errors.

Sitting on the end of their bed after a long day of tears, tantrums and hellacious screaming, staring dejectedly at the floor, Stiles didn't bother to try and school his expression when Derek came in, knowing full well that Derek could tell exactly how unhappy he was. "I know it's ridiculous," he said miserably, "and I know they're babies and it doesn't mean anything, but I just want those tiny, adorable jerks to like me."

"Oh, Stiles," Derek murmured, coming to sit beside him and pull him in close.

"You're so fucking good at this kid stuff, and I feel like I don't really have anything to bring to the table, you know? I just show up, make meals and clean up. They don't even want me to read them stories."

The hurt was genuine, but Derek just smiled as he slipped a hand beneath Stiles' shirt and spread his fingers wide to touch as much skin as possible. "Charlie cries every time he sees you leave for work," he said eventually. "The only way I can get him to stop is to give him that ridiculous Batwing--"

"--Nightwing--"

"-- _Nightwing_ doll of yours and let him carry around my wallet with that photo of you and Lydia in it."

"Okay, first of all, it's not a doll, it's an _action figure_. And second, Charlie is absolutely going to grow up to be Lydia's evil genius sidekick slash protege, so that's not conclusive."

"Piper won't eat anything you haven't cooked. I have to let her check the handwriting on the frozen stuff I heat them for lunch before she'll touch it."

"She's four," Stiles sniffed dismissively, even as he shifted to sling his legs across Derek's thighs. "What does she know?"

"Magnus' first word was 'Stiles'."

"I used to whisper it to him when no one was around," Stiles confessed, but Derek felt him smile against his collarbone. "Like a parrot."

"Leo will ignore everyone else in the room to focus on you and whatever it is you're doing. Cleaning, cooking, staring into space when you're tired but trying not to fall asleep on the couch; doesn't matter, he would sit there happily for hours and watch you do it."

"I think maybe Lisa dropped him on his head, once."

Derek laughed and pushed Stiles' forehead until he was looking up into Derek's face and took it carefully into his hands, handling him like he was priceless. "I spend every day counting down the minutes until you come home," he admitted. "I love those little jerks, but there is no one in this world I could ever love more than you. I couldn't have done any of this without you, so don't think for one second that you don't contribute. The way you love me is everything."

Stiles' eyes lit up and Derek kissed him breathless, made sure he knew exactly how Derek adored and valued him.

"You do admit that they're jerks, though, right?" Stiles asked when they broke apart, laughing his ass off when Derek shoved him back onto the bed and crawled on top, tasting his smile in their kiss.


	4. The Next Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek talks with John, and an opportunity arises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is my birthday! And as everyone knows, it's always more fun to celebrate with friends. So here you go, friends... more Stereky baby fluff!

Derek let himself into the Stilinski house and set the baby bag and his keys on the kitchen table. “John?”

“Out the back, Son,” John called, and Derek shifted Leo on his hip a little and took Genevieve’s hand to go out the back door and find John in the backyard. “Hi, kids,” the sheriff said, his entire face lighting up when he caught sight of Gen and Leo, the former of whom tore her hand from Derek’s and bolted down the back steps to allow John to pick her up and spin her in a wide circle, and the latter who began squealing happily.

Derek waited for John to set Genevieve back on her feet before handing Leo over for a cuddle, the baby lighting up the same way he did whenever Stiles walked through the door. “Need some help?”

John shook his head. “No, just cleaning out the shed. Let me get this packed away so the kids can play,” he said, and began collecting all the bits and pieces he’d pulled out of the shed to put into the trash. “Why don’t you go and grab us a drink from inside, and grab the blanket from in the hall closet for Leo while you’re there.”

Derek did as instructed, leaving Gen to pepper John with a million questions as he took Leo back and fetched the things from inside. He was twitchy with nerves, but Leo’s babbling helped him focus a little and he smiled as chubby hands patted clumsily at his beard.

“You need to tell Pop that this is good idea, okay?” Leo grinned widely, four perfect white teeth on display, and Derek smiled back. “Or just keep doing that,” he agreed. “That’ll win him over for sure.”

Once he had everything he needed wrapped up in the blanket, he returned to the backyard and John, passing Leo over once more so he could set up the blanket. Gen was exploring the back yard, prowling through the flowers along the back fence, and once John set Leo down he was happy to sit on the blanket and babble about the grass and leaves he could reach.

Stretching his legs out and leaning back on one hand, Derek sighed contentedly as John groaned and sat across from him, opening both bottles of beer and passing one across.

“How’s Gen doing with Lydia being away?” John asked.

“Better than I’d expected, to be honest,” Derek told him. “I think the fact that her routine already involves us has made it a lot easier.”

“You want to leave her here for the afternoon?”

Derek shook his head. “No, I actually came because I wanted to ask your advice about something before Stiles got home.”

John raised his eyebrows and settled in more comfortably, setting his drink down and away from Leo’s grasp. “Ask away.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Derek nodded once and focussed on carefully coaxing a small twig out of Leo’s mouth. “Alright. Well, you know that Stiles has been working on setting up the ‘supernatural adoption service’,” he began, smirking at John’s eyeroll. “Yeah, I know, it’s a ridiculous name.”

“He’s gotten it up and running so quickly, though,” John said proudly.

And he had. Stiles had used his contacts- incredibly many and varied- all over the country to work within the law enforcement purview to begin creating a kind of phone tree of supernaturals and people in the know who were willing to take in any orphaned or abandoned supernatural kids who were left without families or pack in the event of a tragedy or hunter-related intervention. As far as Derek knew it was the first time something of the sort had been attempted, and not only had he gotten it up and running, it was  _working_. Just last week Stiles had placed an abandoned half-were with a pack in Texas, and by all accounts the fostering was going well.

Derek had never been so proud of Stiles, either as a deputy or as his partner, and his heart ached when he remembered the way Stiles had tugged him into a close embrace and waltzed him around the house after he’d gotten the phone call, his delighted laughter filling their home.

“He’s amazing,” Derek agreed with a fond smile. “Um, but I was thinking, because of what Stiles is doing and where we are, you know, life-wise and financially and whatever, and I guess we’ve kind of spoken about it, in a general kind of way, so I don’t know if Stiles would even really be ready right now-”

Derek managed to stop himself from rambling and was about to try again when he caught sight of the slow, happy smile creeping across John’s face. “What?”

“Derek, is this your roundabout way of asking me whether or not you think _I_  think you should ask Stiles to adopt a child?”

He felt a flush crawl up his throat and he cleared it once, picking a long blade of grass and swiping it down Leo’s nose, chuckling when the baby went cross-eyed and tried to grab it. “I-- yes. I guess it is.”

John reached over and gripped the top of Derek’s shoulder. “I think that’s a great idea, Son. To be honest, I’ve been waiting for you guys to announce something like this for a while.”

“You have?” Derek asked, surprised.

“My son loves you more deeply than I have ever seen anyone love before,” John replied matter-of-factly. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for you, to make you happy. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his motivation for doing this whole thing.”

The thought hadn’t even occurred to Derek, but he heard the truth of the words. “So... so you think he’d consider it?”

“I think he’d do it tomorrow if you wanted it.”

“I want him to want it too, though,” Derek said, finally voicing his deepest fear. “I don’t want him to do this just because he knows I want it. That’s not fair, and long-term it won’t work.”

“Give him a little more credit,” John said gently. “When have you - or I, or  _anyone_  - ever been able to make Stiles do anything he didn’t want to do?”

Derek laughed shakily and shifted his leg so Leo could try and crawl around him. “So. You ready to be a Pop for real?”

John smiled again. “You’d better believe it.”

Gen returned to pass John a scraggly bouquet of bluebells and daisies, idly scenting him with a hand across the shoulders as she went back to exploring. John kept a hold of the flowers like they were precious, and Derek felt a flood of affection for the man.

“What if I’m bad at it?” he said suddenly. “I mean, I know Stiles will be incredible, he’s got you as a role model and he’s such a good person inherently. But what if-”

“Aaand I’m gonna stop you right there,” John said with finality. “The fact that you even care enough to worry so much is proof that you’ll be a great father. You’re a good man, Derek; a great man. You just need to have more faith, in Stiles and in yourself.”

Derek knew what his face must look like, knew that he couldn’t hide anything from this man or his son, but he believed John when he said he believed in Derek, and for now, that would be enough.

*

“Hey, Darth Daddy-O,” Stiles greeted John later that afternoon as he came around the side of the house after work. “Love of my life,” he added, dropping down to a boneless sprawl beside Derek and curling a hand behind his neck to pull him in for a deep kiss.

“And hello to you, wannabe human,” Stiles laughed, pulling away as Leo dragged himself over to him, clutching at his chest and babbling incoherently. “Oh, I missed you, baby.”

The desire in Derek’s chest softened at the same time as it intensified, and as John got to his feet to answer the phone in the kitchen Derek gathered Stiles and Leo both up against his chest and snuggled them thoroughly, scenting Stiles as he did so, pleased when his scent shifted from happy and pleased to interested and aroused.

“Hi,” Stiles murmured, eyes alight as he reached up with one hand to run his thumb over Derek’s lower lip.

“Hey there.”

“You’re looking extra gorgeous today.”

“You only want me for the babies,” Derek smiled.

“Trust me,” Stiles said, his heartbeat steady, “that’s just a bonus.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m really in it for your fine, wolfy ass.” He yelped a laugh as Derek shoved him to the grass and kissed him breathless, Gen running over to investigate and wrestle with them as Leo laughed and clapped his hands where he was sitting on Stiles’ belly. “I like this playful side of you,” Stiles told him sweetly.

“I want to adopt,” Derek said suddenly, then reared back in shock at his own words.

“I know, honey,” Stiles told him, head tilted back as he tried to avoid the wet, open-mouthed kisses Leo was favouring him with.

“Now,” Derek ground out. “I want to adopt a baby  _now.”_

Stiles froze, his beautiful bourbon eyes intent on Derek’s. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

There was an intensity to the question that Derek couldn’t help but respond to, shuffling closer as Stiles cradled Leo against himself and shoved himself up to sitting. “I’m sure.”

“Because I got a call today from my person in DCSS in San Diego- he’s got a little boy there who was left at a hospital under the Safe Haven Law. I mean, it’s sudden, and there’s a pack in San Diego who could potentially take him, not to mention all the court and custody stuff that we'd need to go through, but-”

“No,” Derek said suddenly, surety so deep in his bones that he could feel it. “If you want this too, if you think this is the right time for us, I want to take him.”

Stiles carefully sat Leo down on the blanket and took Derek’s face in both of his hands. “I think it’s the perfect time,” Stiles told him, a little breathless.

John returned to the backyard as Derek leaned in to kiss Stiles again. “Hey Dad?”

“Yeah, Kiddo?”

“We’re gonna have a baby.” Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s neck and stared into his face. “Holy shit, Derek- you’re gonna be a daddy!”

John’s laugh was fond, and he smiled as he watched his kids celebrate on his back lawn.

 


	5. Interlude 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek comes home to find Stiles making dinner. Those plans get... put on hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For @everhaunting, who is in need of some cheering up <3

Stiles was already home when Derek returned to the house from dropping off the last of the kids, busy chopping chicken as something savoury and mouthwatering simmered on the stove. His whole face lit up when Derek walked through to the kitchen, and he tilted his head to one side so Derek could press a kiss there before nosing at the skin, breathing deeply.

“God, you smell so good,” he murmured, beard rasping against Stiles’ bare neck and making him shiver.

“Could just be the chicken chasseur,” Stiles smiled, turning his head for a proper kiss which Derek obliged.

“I don’t want to fuck the chicken chasseur,” Derek rumbled, smiling when Stiles gave a snort of surprised laughter and put the knife down, turning to rest his forearms on Derek’s shoulders with his hands held clear.

“I sincerely hope not.”

“I wouldlike to take  _you_  upstairs, though,” Derek told him, his eyes flicking back and forth between Stiles’ beautiful brown eyes, home and happiness settling over his shoulders like a blanket.

Stiles smiled, wide and pleased. “Is that so, Mr Hale?”

Derek pretended to think about it, faux-indecision covering his face before he leaned forward and kissed Stiles again, sliding his tongue slowly along the inside of his top lip. “Pretty sure.”

Stiles’ eyelashes fluttered slightly as he took a half step back from Derek. “Ugh, the things you do to me,” he muttered. “Let me just wash my hands and get all this put away.”

Derek removed the pan from the gas and turned the stove off, then put the chicken into a bowl and put it back into the fridge. He started when Stiles hands, damp and cool, slid beneath his t-shirt and around his hips to his belly, fingers splayed wide as he nuzzled the back of Derek’s neck.

“Race you upstairs?” he asked, then jammed his knee into the back of Derek’s to knock him off-balance and laughed as Derek stumbled forward into the fridge as he darted out of the kitchen and into the hall.

Derek chuckled and chased him towards the stairs, his laughter increasing when Stiles tripped over his own boots beside the front door and stumbled, barely managing to right himself with a hand thrown wildly at the newell post. He swung around it in a tight arc and took the stairs three at a time, his long legs making short work of the staircase as he bolted up them towards the bedroom.

Derek had to actually put some effort into catching up with him, powering up from his thighs at the top of the stairs to catch Stiles around the waist in the bedroom doorway, sending them hurtling towards the bed in a jerky set of movements, laughing the entire time. But then Stiles’ foot accidentally clipped Derek’s ankle and they hit the end of the bed, only to half-bounce, half-slide off the end of the bed and onto the floor, Derek just managing to get his hand beneath Stiles’ head before it hit the floorboards.

“How do you managed to apprehend perps on a daily basis?” Derek asked breathlessly, still laughing.

“Trip and fall on them, mostly,” Stiles laughed back. “Although I’m usually on top.”

“Usually?” Derek asked, one eyebrow raised as Stiles slid a leg up and over Derek’s calf to draw him fully down within the cradle of his thighs.

“Mostly,” Stiles amended, smirking as he tilted his hips forward in a filthy grind that had Derek’s breath hitching in his throat.

“Mostly?”

“Almost exclusively,” Stiles teased, loving the way Derek’s eyes narrowed at him. “I mean, it doesn’t even get me half as hot when it’s not you-” He broke off, his laughter making his cheeks flush and his eyes crease almost closed when Derek went up to his knees, growling deep in the back of his throat and shoved Stiles’ shirt up to expose his belly, pale abs clenching.

“You want to be real careful, saying things like that,” Derek said, voice gruff as he unbuckled his belt and undid his pants, drawing out his cock to begin stroking it roughly. “Makes me think that maybe you don’t know who you belong to.” He could see the way Stiles’ pupils blew wide at that, the way his hips jerked fitfully against nothing as he was held down by Derek sitting on his thighs.

“You, love,” Stiles panted, his eyes still sparkling with amusement. “Only you.” His eyes shifted restlessly, unsure whether or not to watch Derek’s face or his hands, one holding his jeans open while the other pumped his cock in a steady rhythm.

“Well, I just don’t know,” Derek told him, tone deceptively light. “Maybe I should refresh your memory, seeing as how you sound unsure.” He swallowed hard as his arousal began sending thrills up and down his spine.

“I could do with a refresher,” Stiles panted, reaching for Derek, only to freeze and lower his hands to press his palms flat to the floor when Derek shook his head in warning.

“Mine, Stiles, remember?  _Don’t touch_.”

“God, you’re  _magnificent_  like this,” Stiles sighed. “Do it, love; come on me, make me yours.”

“You’re never not mine,” Derek grunted, his hand speeding up. “You’ve  _always_  been mine.”

“Yeah, always,” Stiles said, eyes fixed on Derek’s face, expression intent. “Forever.”

Derek’s spine curved backwards and he snarled as he came, painting Stiles’ belly with thick, pearlescent stripes of his come. “Forever,” he muttered as he dropped forwards onto one hand and slapped the other to Stiles’ stomach to smear his release over the exposed skin and up onto his chest beneath his tee.

“I’m so in love with you I can barely stand it,” Stiles told him, reaching up to draw Derek’s face to his, pressing kisses over every inch of skin he could reach. “You make me crazy.”

“I just jerked off all over you in some warped ownership claim,” Derek told him, sliding down Stiles’ body to finally undo his pants. “I think it’s safe to say that you do the same to me.”

Stiles laughed, his head thunking back to the floor as he lifted a hand and threaded it through Derek’s hair as Derek licked and sucked at his newly exposed hipbones. “Glad to hear it.”

Derek dragged his nails through the hair at the base of Stiles’ cock and licked a long hot stripe up the length of it. “You’re an utter shit, you know that?”

“Good thing you lo- _ove it, fuck,”_  Stiles huffed as Derek swallowed him down with shocking ease. 

He was already close, had been since Derek had ordered him to keep his hands to himself, and the perfect wet suction was exactly what Stiles needed. He felt when Derek loosened his grip on his hips and began rocking his hips up slightly, searching for more. Derek obliged by cupping his balls in one hand and rolling them, thumb running up and down the seam in the middle.

“Oh, just like that,” Stiles groaned. “Your mouth is magic.” Derek hummed around him and Stiles accidentally slammed his elbow down onto the floor. “Oh god, fucking hell,” he moaned, torn between the pain in his arm and the incredible sensation Derek was coaxing from his dick.

Derek chuckled, the vibrations doing amazing things for Stiles, but he reached up to grab Stiles’ hand and drew the pain away.

“Multitasking showoff,” Stiles muttered, but the thumb stroking over the back of Derek’s hand belied any harshness his words may have held. “I love you.”

His movements speeding up a little, Derek squeezed Stiles’ hand as he sucked a little harder. He could tell that Stiles was close by the uncoordinated twitches of his thighs and hips, and he wanted nothing more than to experience him falling apart because of Derek’s own efforts.

“Derek, honey,” Stiles bit out from behind clenched teeth, “I’m so close.” He shuddered out a sigh and the hand in Derek’s hair tightened a little, then clenched convulsively as he came, spilling over Derek’s tongue and down his throat. He mewled softly as Derek worked him to the point of oversensitivity, then rolled them onto their sides once Derek had crawled back up his body.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Stiles told him sweetly, holding Derek’s face in his hands as he kissed him lovingly.

“I feel the same about you,” Derek told him, running his nose along Stiles’, eyes fluttering closed. “Usually.” Stiles’ resultant laughter was beautiful to behold, and it warmed Derek from the inside out. 

“You’re such an asshole,” Stiles sighed happily, before groaning and shifting awkwardly. “Now help me up; I’m too old to be fucking on the floor.”

*

Later that night, once dinner had been restarted and eaten, and the house was once again calm and quiet, Stiles left the bathroom and slid into bed beside Derek, stretching languorously with his arms above his head. Derek tracked the movement avidly, expression blatantly admiring.

Stiles didn’t notice, though; his hands hand slipped beneath his pillow as he stretched and he pulled something from beneath it. “Oh, I forgot,” he said quietly, rolling onto his stomach as he passed the small scrap of white fabric to Derek.

Unfolding it, his heart clenching a little when he discovered that it was a tiny little cotton onesie, Derek glanced at Stiles who was watching him with eyes made soft by adoration.

“Turn it around,” Stiles told him.

‘I <3 my daddy’ was printed on the front, and Derek smiled, leaning down to kiss Stiles. “Not long to go,” he murmured. “Thank you.”

They both knew the thanks was for more than just the onesie, but Stiles grinned and shrugged one shoulder, head twisted to the side to watch Derek. “I was going to get you the one that said ‘proof that my daddy sucks at pulling out’, but I thought that might be inappropriate.”

Derek laughed hard enough that he started coughing, and until Stiles joined in and their combined laughter flittered through the bedroom window and out into the night.


	6. And Baby Makes Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek finally gets his wish, and his and Stiles' family grows a little bigger.

The cruiser sped up the driveway far too fast, and Derek was on his feet in an instant, bolting to the front door to tear it open, alert and a hair-trigger away from shifting. Stiles pulled to a stop with a small spray of gravel that Derek would ordinarily have bitched him out about and hurled himself out of the vehicle, leaving the door open and the interior alert pinging quietly thanks to the keys still in the ignition.

“I was going to call, but I wanted to tell you in person,” Stiles called as he bolted up the porch steps and right into Derek’s space, eyes shining and cheeks flushed. “Tonight, Derek.”

“Tonight what?” Derek asked, confused and a little emotionally disoriented now that it seemed there was no threat or real reason for Stiles’ to have driven up to the house at forty miles an hour.

“Jack is driving up here with Alexander. They’ll be here by ten.”

The bottom of Derek’s stomach felt like it was falling away as he reached out to draw Stiles close, clenching his fists in the back of his uniform shirt. “What?”

Stiles’ smile was blinding. “I may have made a call to a friend of mine who knows a guy who has an in with Judge Borski who might have convinced him to rule early on the adoption.”

“When? We were just in San Diego on Tuesday, how… I didn’t even know-”

“Surprise,” Stiles laughed delightedly, his eyes meeting Derek’s and just about knocking the breath from him with the volume of love contained therein. “I hope you’re ready, Daddy, because our lives are about to get a whole lot more hectic.”

Like the deepest of bass notes thrumming through his chest in a nightclub, Derek felt the rightness of Stiles’ words pulse through him. “Oh my god,” he murmured, the slow smile that Stiles loved the most slowly creeping across his face. “Oh my _god.”_

Stiles laughed again, the slight sheen of tears matching Derek’s as he leaned forward and kissed him, sliding his hands up and down Derek’s arms to smooth away the minute tremors shimmering through the muscle there. “I’m fucking terrified,” he confessed, rubbing his cheek against Derek’s as he tilted his head slightly to allow Derek to scent him.

“So am I,” Derek whispered back, his gorgeous eyes wide and slightly disbelieving. “But this is… I can feel--”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, pressing a hand distractedly to his chest over his heart. “It feels right.”

They stood staring at each other, Derek’s hands trembling against Stiles’ back, Stiles too scared to step away from the familiar heat of Derek’s body against his for fear his knees would give way, until Derek huffed a laugh and kissed Stiles again.

“Should we tell everyone?”

Stiles considered it for a moment. “We can if you want, but if you want to have a night or two just for us and the baby to settle in, I don’t think anyone would begrudge us that.”

“Except Erica,” Derek said, his smile growing.

“And Jackson,” Stiles sighed.

“Scott.”

“Okay, so, we get Alexander sorted tonight and call everyone first thing tomorrow morning?”

“I vote for mass text,” Stiles mock-scowled.

“Lydia will murder you,” Derek told him.

“Yeah, but what a way to go,” Stiles said dreamily, laughing when Derek dropped a hand to pinch his ass. He copped a feel of his own before leaning in to kiss Derek senseless once more. “Come on,” he said breathlessly, “we need to go shopping.”

*

They had pretty much everything they needed for a baby already, thanks to Derek being the town's first choice of daycare, but that didn't mean that he and Stiles didn't spend three hours that afternoon shopping anyway. Because this time was different; this time it was for _their_ baby.

They were standing in the middle of Babies 'R' Us when it really sank in, and Derek turned to Stiles at the same time as Stiles turned to him, a 3-pack of Star Wars-themed bibs in his hand. "Stiles," he said hoarsely, an unfamiliar emotion welling up in his chest, threatening to crush his heart with the enormity of it.

"Honey, what's the matter?" Stiles asked immediately, tossing the bibs back onto the display and sliding a hand around the back of Derek's neck, his other hand gripping his hip to draw him into the warmth and security of his body. "Derek, use words- you're freaking me out a little here."

Derek shook his head, overwhelmed, and roughly shoved his face into the perfect curve of Stiles' neck, breathing deeply as he tried to reign his emotions back. "I can't," he gasped, eyes squeezed closed. "I never... I didn't think I would ever--" He cut himself off abruptly but somehow, the way he always did, Stiles got it.

"You're allowed to have this, love, you _know_ that. You're so good, and you work so hard and you've waited so long-- you're allowed to have this, okay?"

"I know," Derek managed to grit out from behind clenched teeth, "but it's _everything."_ Everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever dreamed of, everything he had assumed he'd never get. It was perfect, his life was _perfect_ , and it was terrifying him. "The more I have, the more I have to lose," he confessed on a hoarse gasp.

"Oh Derek," Stiles sighed softly, wrapping his arms tightly around his lover. "I'm not going anywhere without you, okay? You're mine, and I'll protect you from everything forever. You and our baby. I'm strong enough for all of us, okay? Trust that. Trust in _me."_

"I do," Derek said hoarsely. "Always."

Stiles nodded firmly, his palm coming up to smooth over Derek's nape, as though the matter was sorted. Which, in traditional Stiles fashion, it was. "Good," he said quietly, though he held on tight until Derek felt steady enough to inhale a shuddering breath and take a step back from Stiles, hands and eyes lingering. "You gonna to be okay?"

Derek nodded, because he would be. He had Stiles. They had a baby. He was definitely more than okay. “We’re going to need those bibs, though,” he said eventually, and Stiles’ beaming smile was a reward.

*

They made love on the hanging daybed on the back porch in the last of the evening light, touches gentle and words of love murmured softly to fill the home they had created together. Derek moved deeply inside of Stiles, somehow feeling small and protected within the comforting circle of Stiles’ arms. He nuzzled at Stiles’ throat as they rocked together, his hands gripping slender hips tightly as Stiles rocked in his lap, chasing his own pleasure as the sky shifted slowly to deep purple behind him.

“I can’t wait to see you hold our baby, Derek,” Stiles murmured, his voice impossibly soft. “Can’t wait to see your big, strong arms cradling that little boy and loving him, teaching him about family and helping him to grow up to be kind and smart and strong, just like his daddy. I can’t wait to take a million photos of you with a teeny baby asleep on you, to come home and find the two of you curled up together in our bed, asleep.”

He lifted his hands and smoothed Derek’s hair, damp with sweat, back from his face. “You’re going to be amazing at this, Gorgeous; you’re so patient, so smart and so sweet, and you’re going to be the greatest father ever. And I’ll be right there with you,” Stiles promised, sliding his hands down either side of Derek’s face to rest on his throat, thumbs stroking tenderly. His heart rate picked up a little when Derek allowed his head to drop back and he bared his throat, the ultimate sign of trust.

“Derek, christ _Derek,”_ Stiles gasped out, his lips blazing a burning path down the pale skin exposed there. _“God,_ you feel so good inside me; I can’t believe I get to have this, have you for the rest of our lives. You, and me, and Alex, and all the other babies we’re gonna have.”

“Stiles, you _can’t,”_ Derek said desperately, a yearning huff of disbelieving laughter forced from him as the daybed began to swing harder with the rhythm of Stiles riding him. “Do you know what you do to me?” he asked desperately.

“I have an inkling,” Stiles sighed happily, finally reaching down between them to take his dick in hand, stroking it slowly.

“Let me,” Derek murmured, pushing Stiles’ hand away and replacing it with his own, keeping his grip tight the way he knew Stiles liked best.

They both looked down, pressed cheek to cheek, and watched as Derek jerked him off, the tanned skin of his hand counterpoint to the fairness of Stiles’ belly and the dusky flush of his cock. Something about the inherent care in the way Derek used his incredibly powerful body to handle him with near-reverence always made Stiles’ heart race, and he turned his face slightly to nuzzle into Derek.

“You take such good care of me,” he whispered against the shell of Derek’s ear, smiling when he felt him shudder, knowing that the wolfiest parts of Derek were preening. “I love you so much.”

Derek gave an abortive laugh before he cut himself off with a groan as he came, surprising them both, his cock jerking inside Stiles. Stiles just huffed a laugh of his own and wrapped his hand around Derek’s, keeping it moving over his dick as he ground down hard, twisting his hips in filthy little circles until Derek grabbed his hips and planted his feet solidly on the floor to thrust upwards, angling his own hips to nail Stiles’ prostate with every move.

Stiles groaned long and low when he came, unsurprised when Derek angled his dick so the majority of it landed on his belly, the inherent ownership in the way he smeared Stiles’ come into his own skin making heat curl tightly within Stiles. He knew Derek could feel it when Stiles leaned forward and kissed him, lingering and slow, their hearts racing in counterpoint as they held each other close.

“Thank god you reinforced the joists,” Stiles murmured eventually, the skin on his back beginning to cool in the evening air, Derek’s answering laugh a rumble of vibration against his chest. “Want to take a shower with me and then go have a nap?”

“Sounds perfect,” Derek sighed, his hands gentle on Stiles as they separated, Stiles making a involuntary low noise of protest when Derek slipped out. “Want me to carry you upstairs?”

“So much,” Stiles confessed. “But I’m saving that all up for when I’m old and grey and creaky and you’re still strong and sexy.”

Derek took Stiles’ extended hand and hauled him to his feet, his eyes unutterably fond when they drank Stiles in, tall and strong and beautiful in what little light there was shining out of the windows. “Can’t wait.”

*

By the time Jack Beresford arrived at a little after ten that night, Stiles had double checked everything half a hundred times, and Derek had withdrawn into himself and was brooding in the study, curled up on the loveseat staring at a book Stiles knew he wasn’t reading.

He had just finished inventorying their stash of nappies, wipes, muslin swaddles and terry-towelling burp cloths-- again-- when Derek materialised at his side, mouth tight with strain and hands trembling. Stiles cupped a hand around one pale cheek and tried not to smile at the way Derek’s eyes were wide and spooked. “They’re here?”

“Just turned into the driveway,” Derek said, swallowing hard.

“You ready?”

“Not slightly,” Derek said, fear and nerves making him honest.

“Me either,” Stiles told him, then took his hand and walked with him out onto the front porch to wait.

It wasn’t long before headlights appeared between the trees, sweeping across the front of the house and then away as Jack parked the car and got out, reached up in a long stretch as he grinned up at them.

“You’re looking old, Jack,” Stiles called out, tugging Derek along with him as he went to greet his old friend.

“You’ve put on weight, Stilinski-- middle-age spread catching up with you?”

“Fuck you, I’m twenty eight, you dick,” Stiles laughed, and reached forward to pull Jack into a hug. “How was the drive?”

“Had to stop a couple of times, the little guy was a bit out of sorts,” Jack told them. “Finally fell asleep about an hour ago. Uneventful otherwise.” He smiled at Derek and leaned in for a hug of his own, surprising Derek into automatically raising his arms and returning the embrace.

Jack was an old college friend of Stiles’, in the know as the human of a pack in San Diego, and he and Stiles had been working closely together to get the Supernatural Adoption Service off the ground for a couple of years. They were close, and Derek had gotten to know Jack by proxy, but they had never been hugging-close.

“Congratulations, guys,” Jack said, his calm grey eyes clear and happy. “I’m excited for you both.”

“Thank you,” Derek replied gruffly, his eyes flicking briefly to the car before returning to Jack who just grinned knowingly.

“Want to go get him?”

Derek glanced at Stiles, blatant yearning on his face and Stiles melted, his entire face softening as he curled his hand around the back of Derek’s neck and leaned in to press a brief kiss to his cheek. They made their way to the car together, and Derek could hear the way Stiles’ heart had begun to race, keeping time with his own. They shared another glance as Stiles reached out to pull open the car door, and then there he was.

Derek was familiar with babies, from when he had been a kid growing up in a house full of them to now as the go-to guy for childcare in Beacon Hills, but even that couldn’t have prepared him for the breathless love that filled him when he caught sight of Alexander asleep in his car seat, tiny face lax and with one little curled fist lying over the blanket that covered him.

“Oh,” he said softly, the sound half-broken and devastated in the best way as he reached out to remove the blanket and unbuckle the straps. He carefully lifted the baby out and straight to his chest, leaning back against the car and holding an arm out to let Stiles crowd in against him, long fingers shaking but infinitely gentle as they stroked softly over the shock of dark hair and down one perfect cheek.

“Derek, he’s so beautiful,” Stiles breathed, his voice wavering.

“Yeah,” Derek murmured back. “And he’s _ours.”_

Stiles pressed a hand to his chest and stared down at the baby, unable to look away. “Christ, how do people stand it?” he asked distractedly.

“Stand what?”

“This, all of it,” Stiles gestured wildly before touching his chest again. “My heart feels like it’s too big to fit, and I can’t catch my breath, and I’m thrilled and terrified all at the same time.”

Watching them with a wide smile, Jack huffed a quiet laugh. “That’s parenthood, buddy- best get used to it, because that feeling ain’t going anywhere.”

Derek tore his eyes off Alexander to look at Stiles, the familiar face open and awed. “I love you,” he said, never having meant it more than he did in that moment.

Stiles stared back at him, a crooked smile curling his lips. “This is the best thing we’ve ever done,” he returned, and Derek heard _I love you, too._

“Why don’t we get this little guy inside and finish up all the paperwork?” Jack suggested. “Then I can be out of your hair and you can all get to bonding.”

*

Jack left them around midnight with a stack of paperwork for Alex and promises to check in regularly. Derek passed Alex to Stiles and showed him back out to the car, surprising him with a firm hug before he could climb back into the vehicle.

“Thank you,” he said gruffly. “For everything. Stiles told me that it was you--”

“Don’t mention it, buddy,” Jack waved him off. “Honestly, it was the least I could do. And you guys… well, you two deserve it more than most.” He smiled at Derek. “Lots of sleepless nights in your future, huh?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I was looking forward to it?” Derek asked.

“I have two of my own,” Jack told him, “so yes, I would. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Derek smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

Jack clapped him on the shoulder and got into the car. “Be kind to each other, okay? You guys are the foundation of your family, and of your pack. Make time for each other.”

“Is that the social worker in you speaking, or the cop?” Derek asked.

“Just some advice from one father to another,” Jack told him, laughing at the expression on Derek’s face as he started the engine and reversed out of the drive, a hand stuck out the window in a wave of farewell as the taillights receded into the darkness between the trees.

_Speaking of fathers,_ Derek thought to himself as he pulled his phone from his pocket and sent off a quick message before returning to the house to find Stiles.

When he returned to the living room it was to discover that Alex had woken in the couple of minutes he had been outside, his copper-coloured eyes bright and alert where he lay placidly in Stiles’ lap, reclining back against Stiles’ thighs. His attention jerked to Derek when he caught the movement, overshot and drifted for a moment before returning, brow furrowing in concentration.

“Is that Daddy?” Stiles crooned quietly. “I think it is, and I think you might have inherited his eyebrows.”

Derek grinned as he climbed over the back of the sofa to sit next to Stiles, an arm slung around his shoulders. “You do understand that he’s not biologically ours, right?” he said wryly, keeping his voice as gentle as Stiles had.

“Pfft, tell that to Alex’s eyebrows, honey,” he smirked, using his index finger to smooth over them, making Alex’s eyes drift slowly closed like they were suddenly too heavy to keep open. “Oh my god, look at that!” He did it again, and again Alex’s eyes closed. Stiles stared at his hand, turning it back and forth to investigate it. “Maybe I actually _am_ magic?”

Derek chuckled and kissed Stiles’ temple. “Did Jack say when he’d last fed?”

“Nine, I think,” Stiles told him distractedly, gently stroking every inch of bared skin he could get his hands on. “All the stuff is ready to go in the kitchen whenever we need it.”

They sat like that for a long while, basking in the newness of their adjusted family dynamic, Derek with his cheek resting on Stiles’ head as they watched Alex watch them right back, seemingly content to just be held.

“How’re you doing?” Stiles asked eventually, his hands cupping Alex’s tiny feet, flexing them gently in curiosity. 

Derek thought about it for a moment. “I don’t remember ever having been happier than this in my entire life,” he said eventually. “Even before, when we were all together, it was never like this. Probably because I was an angst-filled, hormone-riddled teenager, but I don’t remember ever feeling this content.”

“Jesus, Derek,” Stiles said after a moment, turning to look at Derek, but was distracted by Alex’s grip on his finger firming as the baby tried to bring it to his mouth to suck on. “Here.” He passed Alex to Derek and got to his feet. “I’ll make up a bottle.” He paused, then reached out and caressed the side of Derek’s face. “It’s the same for me, you know. I’ve never been happier than this, either.”

Derek smiled and shoved his face more firmly into Stiles’ palm. “Good,” he began, but broke off when the crunch of gravel from outside the house announced someone’s arrival. “That’ll be for you.”

Frowning in confusion, Stiles reached the door at the same time as their visitor, pulling it open to reveal his dad, John’s eyes bright with unshed tears as he immediately swooped in and pulled Stiles into a rib-creaking hug.

“Congratulations, Son,” he said hoarsely.

“Dad,” Stiles breathed as he hugged his dad back, only just realising how badly he’d wanted to see his father in that moment. “Oh god, you need to come and meet Alexander,” he said suddenly, grabbing John’s sleeve and dragging him further into the house. “He’s perfect, Dad, and he’s the cutest damn baby I have ever seen-- and wait until you see Derek with him, oh god it’s so cute it might actually _kill_ me.”

Laughing at his son’s exuberance John followed him through the house to where Derek was just getting to his feet, Alexander beginning to make little huffs of sound as he jerkily brought a fist to his mouth to suck noisily at it.

“He’s hungry,” Derek explained with a smile, then raised his eyebrows at John. “Would you like to hold your grandson while I get his bottle ready?”

That was too much for John, and tears finally spilled over and down his cheeks as he held his hands out and stepped close to Derek, carefully cradling the dark head and bringing the baby up against his chest. “Oh, boys,” he sighed with a sniff, staring down at Alex. “He’s perfect.”

Stiles slipped into Derek’s arms for a brief hug before Derek kissed him on the forehead and went to make up the formula. “Come on, Dad, come and sit down,” Stiles smiled, leading his father to the couch and ensuring he was comfortable. “So,” he said once they were both settled, “surprise?”

John’s grin was huge and beaming, and something in Stiles relaxed. “The best surprise,” his dad promised, eyes alight. “He’s so tiny. And still,” he added. “I definitely do not remember you being this still or quiet.”

Stiles snorted a laugh, but his expression changed to one of mild panic when Alex managed to grab a hold of his own face with the hand he didn’t have in his mouth and dragged a set of welts down the perfect skin of his own cheek, eyes wide with shock at the pain before he began to cry, loud, desperate sobs that made Stiles want to set fire to the entire world if it meant that his son _would just stop making that heartbreaking noise._

“Here,” Derek said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere to pass a warm bottle of formula to John and perch on the arm of the lounge to watch as Alex greedily shook his head trying to get at the silicone nipple, missing it entirely a few times before latching on and sucking like he was starving.

The three men crowded in around Alex and watched avidly as he fed, his big dark eyes watching them solemnly as though learning each of their faces, Derek reaching out and smoothing his hair back while Stiles ran a careful finger over the smooth skin on the top of his bare foot.

“I’m so proud of you two,” John said eventually, keeping his voice soft so as not to disturb Alex, whose eyelids were getting heavier with every passing minute. “What you’ve made here together, the men you’ve become, and now adopting Alex… you’re going to be incredible parents.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Stiles said, shifting so he could lean his head on John’s shoulder. “If I manage not to totally fuck up my own kid, it’ll only have been because I had you as my role model.”

John levelled a flat look at Stiles. “Let’s just hope little Alex here inherits Derek’s mouth and not yours.”

“I’ll have you know that Derek likes my mouth just fine,” Stiles smirked, laughing at the look on his father’s face.

“Could you _not_ in front of the baby?” Derek asked mildly, but his casual tone was made a lie by the blush that crept across his face. In spite of that he reached behind John across the back of the couch and laced his fingers with Stiles’, holding on tight.

*

After Alex had fallen asleep in John’s arms and Stiles had gotten their room ready for bed, John passed Alex back to Derek with obvious reluctance and prepared to leave.

“John,” Derek said quietly as the sheriff reached for the door, “thank you. For being here, and for what you said before. I… it kills me that my dad isn’t here for me to introduce Alex to, and to get parenting advice from, but I’m glad that we-- that _I--_ have you.”

The look that crossed John’s face was as complicated as any Derek had ever seen on Stiles, and the resultant smile was also familiar. “I may not be the talker that Stiles is, but I know the importance of certain things not remaining unsaid,” he told Derek slowly, “so I’ll tell you this now because I think it’s important that you hear it, in plain words, from me.”

The solemn weight behind the words made Derek tense and swallow hard, bracing himself for what, he didn’t know. “Okay,” he said cautiously, forcing himself to meet John’s eyes.

John nodded, as though the action had just confirmed something he already knew. “You make my boy happy, and if that were all it would be enough for me to tell what kind of a man you are. But it’s more than that; you push and challenge him, you look out for him, you support him and you love him. Stiles is who he is in large part because of you, and I will forever be grateful to you for it. That aside, you are wonderful human being in your own right, too. For you to have come so far, to have gotten here from where all this started? I couldn’t be prouder of you if you were my own blood. And you may as well be, Derek, okay? You’re family, you’re my son, and I love you the same way I love Stiles. And now Alex, too,” he added, his expression lightening in stunned pleasure.

Derek stared at John, stunned, his heart thumping painfully and his stomach twisting. He couldn’t even begin to find words to respond to that, let alone form them comprehensibly, but given the way John just chuckled and pulled him in for a careful, tight hug around Alex, stooping to kiss the baby’s forehead, Derek thought maybe he understood.

“Go and get some sleep,” John told him gently. “You’ve got some long days and nights ahead of you.”

“So I’ve been told,” Derek said wryly. “Thanks, John.”

“Call if you need anything, okay?”

“We will.”

“Goodnight, Derek.”

“Goodnight, John.”

Derek found Stiles leaning back against the headboard in their bed, shirtless and sleepy in the soft lamplight as he read something on his phone. Derek glanced at the cot set up in the corner of the room but ignored it in favour of laying Alex down on the bed next to Stiles before disappearing into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he returned Stiles had put his phone away and was lying on his side to raptly watch Alex as the baby slept.

Climbing in on the other side and rolling so he was facing them, Derek allowed his body to slowly relax as he drank in the awed expression on Stiles’ face, his eyes soft and intent. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

Stiles looked up at him. “Not half as beautiful as you,” he whispered back. “Do you know how good you look with our baby in your arms? I just want to climb on top of you and make a million more of them.”

Derek smiled and settled a hand on Alex’s chest when he shifted a little, his tiny rosebud mouth forming into a phantom sucking motion. “Maybe not tonight, dear; there suddenly seems to be a lot less space in our bed.”

The smile Derek got in return was wide. “Isn’t it great?”

“The best,” Derek told him in return.

*

Alex woke up every three hours to feed or be changed, but it was almost eight before they all actually got up for the day, so Derek and Stiles weren’t feeling to bad for it. The whirlwind of visitors that followed was another story, though.

Stiles called Lydia after they’d eaten breakfast and was privileged enough to hear her begin to cry when he delivered the news. She promised to give him a half hour to call Scott and let him know before she and the rest of the pack arrived to meet their newest member, but he didn’t even need that long- within a minute of Stiles telling him Scott was in the car- still on the phone- and on his way.

It always amused Stiles, the moments he remembered that he was an adult, with adult friends and a circle of acquaintances that probably included three quarters of Beacon Hills. It was less amusing, however, when they all arrived at his door to meet their new baby.

Derek bore it with surprising good grace, though outside of the pack there weren’t many people he allowed to hold their son. From the look on Amanda’s face when Derek handed Alex over without even having been asked, she was well aware of the honour being bestowed. Derek made sure to keep Stiles at his side throughout the day, content to let the pack fetch them anything they needed or wanted, but when five in the evening rolled around, he’d had more than enough.

“It’s time for Alex to have dinner and a bath, and then go to bed. Same for Stiles,” he announced, grinning at the raised finger he received in return. “You can all come back tomorrow,” he told the rest of the werewolves lounging around the living room, “but I’d like to be alone with my family, now.”

The following farewells weren’t done with any real haste, but by the time they had the house to themselves again, they were both exhausted. “Go run a bath,” Stiles told Derek, “and I’ll bring a bottle up. Pretty sure we can all fit in the tub together.”

Actually, he was certain they could. When they had built the house they had made the master bathroom generous enough in size to house the double-wide built-in bathtub that was big enough for the two of them with room to spare. He had fantasised about that tub during construction, and the reality was even better once they had moved in.

As he waited for the water to boil he tidied up, putting chairs away and ensuring that all the dirty dishes were started in the dishwasher, and discovered a whole heap of containers in the fridge that he didn’t recognise, and made a note to ask Derek who had brought them so he could thank them for bringing food.

After making the bottle up and switching all the lights off, Stiles headed upstairs to where Derek was already in the bath, leaning forward and supporting Alex in the water so just his face was free. Their baby kicked his legs excitedly, experimenting with weightlessness and the feeling of water all around himself, making soft sounds of excitement as he did so. Slipping back out of the bathroom to fetch his phone-- because that shit was too cute not to take a million photos of it-- Stiles leant in the doorway for several long minutes, just watching the man he loved more than any other in the world as he carefully kept their baby safe in the warm water.

“Looks like we’ve got a water baby on our hands, huh?” he said eventually, leaning out to toss his phone onto the bed before stripping off and carefully climbing into the bath, leaving the bottle within easy reach. He curled his hands around Derek’s beneath the surface and watched Alex, whose face immediately turned to try and find him. “Hi, baby,” he murmured. “Hey there. You like swimming with Daddy? Like being in the warm water? Yeah, me too.”

Derek snorted and nudged Stiles’ hip with his foot. “You want to feed him?” he asked, face twisting into something like apology. “You didn’t get to hold him much today.”

Stiles shrugged and wrapped one hand around Derek’s ankle. “It’s okay,” he said easily. “I figure I’ve got the rest of forever with you guys- wouldn’t want to wear the thrill out too early.” He smirked at the way Derek’s face went all soft and disbelieving at that and took advantage of his distraction to bring Alex closer, turning him carefully so his feet were pressed against Stiles’s belly. “What do you think, sweetpea?” he asked Alex seriously. “Do you think you’ll be happy with me and Daddy spoiling you stupid and keeping you to love forever and ever? Not that it matters what you think, because I’ve decided that’s how it’s going to be. That’s how I managed to keep your Daddy, just fyi.”

“It kind of was,” Derek agreed, his laugh echoing against the tiles.

“You’re _welcome,”_ Stiles told him pointedly, then grabbed the bottle when Alex began trying to suck on his clenched fist again. “You hungry, little man? Want something tastier than your hand for dinner?” He lifted his knees a little, wedging his feet beneath Derek’s thighs so he could cradle Alex more securely but still keep him warm in the water. “There you go,” he said encouragingly, carefully pushing Alex’s arms down when he kept smacking uncoordinated hands against the bottle in his attempt to drag it to his mouth. “Yeah, there you go, buddy, good work.”

Glancing up from his son, Stiles sighed a little to himself at the sight of Derek reclining in the bath with his arms lying along the sides and his head tipped back, eyes closed and throat bared as he relaxed. He could feel his belly flip with desire and knew Derek had to be aware of it too when his mouth curled up at the corners.

“Don’t judge me when you’re lying there like sex personified,” Stiles told him sternly. “You see that, Alex? Daddy is being a tease right now. Don’t grow up to be that guy, okay?”

“Excuse me?” Derek asked, lifting his head to stare at Stiles. “Talk about tease- look at you!”

Stiles’ eyebrows shot up as he glanced down at himself and Alex. “Dude, I’m plugging a bottle into our kid and trying to figure out the odds of scalding myself if I were to use my toes to turn the hot water on from here. If that’s what does it for you, you might want to consider trading up.”

Derek scowled at him. “Don’t do that,” he said, tone reprimanding, “don’t devalue yourself. You’re sitting in our bath, with me in the home we made together, nourishing our infant son and talking about forever. What part of that am I meant to possibly improve upon?”

As he stared at Derek, Stiles knew his heart was in his eyes but he didn’t even try to hide it. “Yeah, okay, you raise a valid point,” he smiled. “So… can _you_ turn on the hot water for me?” Derek just laughed and did as requested, watching Stiles and Alex contentedly as they all sat in the bath together, talking softly until Alex was done nursing.

When the water began to cool again Derek got out of the bath first, drying off before tossing a dry towel over his shoulder and carefully lifting Alex out to wrap him up and dry him off. He laid the baby down on the towel on the bed and made short work of diapering and dressing him as Stiles came out of the bathroom and joined them on the bed, pulling an old pair of Derek’s sweats on before he climbed into bed.

“Why am I so fucking tired?” Stiles wondered on the tail of a yawn, flopping bonelessly back onto the bed. “I’ve done literally nothing all day.”

“Go to sleep,” Derek told him with a fond smile, gently stroking a hand over his cheek. “I’ll take first feed so you can get a solid few hours.”

“You sure?” Stiles asked, eyes already drifting closed.

“I’m certain,” Derek smiled, happy, and kissed his baby’s fluffy head while his lover drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Come look at all the pretty Sterek stuff I post!](http://www.tumblr.com/blog/aussiebee)


	7. The Favourite Part Of Stiles' Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's so much to love about not only being lucky enough to have Derek in his life, but also a baby as well.

The favorite part of Stiles’ day might just be when Derek crawls back into their bed of a morning with an armful of warm, sleepy baby. Alex is a remarkably calm baby, proof, Stiles says, of his lack of genetic contribution. More likely it’s due to having the undivided attention of his alpha for so much of the day, but whatever the reason, Stiles will take it. He’s known many a noisier infant

Seeing Alex lying calmly against Derek’s chest, head turned to watch Stiles as he talks, eyes wide and glowing in the gentle morning light filling the room makes Stiles’ breath catch, his heart skipping in a way that makes Derek’s face soften and turn impossibly adoring.

There’s always a kiss that follows, Alex’s wobbly little fists reaching up to touch their faces as lips meet over his head, and his delighted laughs when they turn their attention to him, Derek’s scruff tickling and Stiles making exaggerated smooching noises, is the greatest sound in the world.

.

Then again, helping secure their son against Derek’s chest with the Girasol Rainbow wrap so Alex is snug and secure might be his favourite part of the day. Getting the chance to run his hands all over Derek’s torso while holding a conversation with the nine-week-old extolling the virtues of his daddy’s beautiful  _ everything _ is life-affirming, all the more so when Derek blushes. Every. Single. Time. Like there was any doubt after all this time that Stiles still finds him to be the sexiest guy he’s ever laid eyes on.

Alex staring at him with a tiny smile like he agrees but doesn’t want to embarrass Daddy is the most adorable fucking thing Stiles has ever seen, and he tells Derek that too, laughing when Derek chides him for  _ language around the little one, Stiles _ as Stiles takes a bajillion photos for Instagram because if he has to suffer the frankly punishing amount of cuteness their lives have devolved into, all their friends do, too.

(The highlight of Stiles’ life might just be the look on Derek’s face when Stiles gleefully discovers that one of said photos has ended up on a Tumblr called MommyPorn. By the time he finds the picture of Alex strapped to Derek as he does the dishes it already has several thousand notes and tags such as  _ #hot like BURNING _ _ ,  _ _ #where do i get one of those _ and  _#fuck_ _#i just spontaneously ovulated_ , and Derek blushes so hard his hair almost catches fire. Stiles screenshots the post to use as their Christmas card photo.)

.

Isaac asks Stiles one day what he’s smiling about, and Stiles tells him it’s because he’s remembering Derek in the shower with Alex held up against his shoulder, face safely out of the spray as he hummed  _ I Wanna Kiss You All Over  _ that morning. It’s absolutely his favourite part of that day.

.

Watching as Derek reads to their kid who can’t even hold his own head up yet is a lesson in restraint, because all Stiles wants to do when he sees it is kiss Derek senseless and squish their son between them until Alex is absorbed directly into their hearts, where he belongs. He thinks maybe it’s the favourite part of Derek’s day, too, what with the way his eyebrows raise slightly like he can read Stiles’ mind and agrees with him. Instead of calling him on it, though, he shoves a cushion aside from the daybed on the back porch so Stiles can curl up next to them, head in Derek’s lap as Derek and Alex both touch his hair, Alex with curiosity and exploration, Derek with infinite tenderness.

(When Stiles reads to Alex it’s a more theatrical experience. Alex lies back in the bouncer on the floor and watches in wide-eyed thrall as Stiles recreates all of his picture books in full pantomime, often with costume changes and pratfalls. Derek films it all from the couch where he lies, laughing, as Stiles breaks two toes on the leg of the coffee table, once again berating him for swearing.)

.

Even late night feeds and diaper changes become favourite moments, especially when Stiles gets up before Derek can even wake and he gets Alexander all to himself. He murmurs softly in English and rusty Polish, his heart aching gently with how much his mom would have loved her grandson. He tells Alex about her, about how strong she was and how he just  _ knows _ Alex will grow up to be like her.

_ Between her and your daddy, _ he tells his son,  _ you are borne on the shoulders of all that is good and kind in this world. _ The look on Derek’s face when Stiles turns towards the door and finds him standing there is like a punch to the gut. He moves to them silently and wraps his arms around Stiles, heart beating frantically where his chest is pressed to Stiles’ arm and buries his face in his neck. The moonlight streaming in the windows and the glow from the clock on the microwave are all that illuminate them, and Alex drifts off to sleep with his parents’ heartbeats echoing his ears.

.

When John visits Stiles at work with Alex in the purple and green plaid Tula carrier he is waylaid at the front desk, swarmed by half the station who are all already halfway towards utterly ruining his grandchild. He grins beatifically at them all, but it’s John he reaches for when he’s had enough cuddles with their colleagues. The way John’s face lights up at his grandson’s obvious affection makes Stiles snort a laugh and mutter uncomplimentary things about him being a soft touch. John flips him the bird and Stiles threatens to tell Derek.

It’s the favourite part of Stiles’ day when his dad settles in the chair opposite his desk with Alex in his lap and pulls out a container of lightly steamed veggies, totally uncaring of the fact that Alex’s enthusiastic attempts at eating mean he gets painted in more food than is actually consumed. He never tires of teasing his dad for always having vegetables on him now.

“If I’d known all it took was a grandkid I would have gotten knocked up in high school,” he says one day.

There’s a moment of horrified silence before John clears his throat and tries not to look like he’s freaking out. “Uh, is that, like, a thing… that can happen? You know, with all the…” He waves an all-encompassing hand that Stiles interprets to mean the collective supernatural.

“Trust me, Dad,” he says easily, grinning as Alex gets an entire broccoli floret in his mouth and then shudders, appalled. “If it were, Derek and I would have figured it out years ago.”

The sour look John gives him makes Stiles laugh at the memory of it for  _ days _ .

.

Watching Derek get hit on by legions of women when he has Alex on or around his person is fucking  _ hilarious _ . He gets flustered and awkward, and usually just ends up shuffling far enough away that he ends up almost on top of Stiles, hand gripping him like a lifeline. And Stiles gets it, he does. Some of those women are  _ relentless. _

Kellie Harmer is particularly aggressive, to the point that she touches Derek one day and Stiles is suddenly infuriated. He sees the way Derek’s shoulders go all tight, and even Alex can tell something is wrong, his little face scrunching up in the way it does when he’s thinking about maybe starting to cry. And  _ no one _ makes his baby cry.

Stiles marches down the bakery aisle of the supermarket, ‘accidentally’ knocking Kellie’s cart into her as he goes, smoothing a hand over Alex’s head as he kisses Derek on the corner of his mouth and ‘whispers’ something about wanting to go home and practice making another baby loudly enough for Kellie to hear.

Derek flushes beet red and drops the empty basket, grabs Stiles by the hand and drags him from the store. Stiles throws an enormous shit-eating grin over his shoulder at Kellie who is staring after them frustratedly and wiggles the fingers of his free hand in a jaunty little wave.

After Alex is down for his nap and Derek has fucked him through the living room floor, Stiles breathlessly tells him that Thursday might just be his favourite day ever, and can they pencil this into their weekly schedule. Derek’s dick twitches valiantly where it’s still lying cradled in Stiles hand, and he rolls over and does it all over again.

Hands down the best part of his day.

.

Derek stresses himself out when he starts talking about reserving places in schools and wait lists for the best paediatrician in Beacon Hills. Stiles reminds him that it’s  _ Beacon Hills _ … the population is well supported by the number of elementary schools, and that given that Alexander is a werewolf, his doctor will be Deaton.

Stiles falls in love with Derek all over again at how much he cares about everything, how far he’s willing to go, the amount of time, effort and money he’s willing to spend to ensure Alex has the best of everything. As easygoing as Derek is with the whole baby thing, he’s incredibly tightly wound about future plans.

“I never want what happened to me and Laura to happen to Alex,” Derek tells him one night over dinner, Alexander sound asleep on his playmat in the living room. “There were no provisions put in place for us after the fire, and we had no one we trusted to go to. All the money from insurance and life insurance policies took months to come through, and if it weren’t for Laura being old enough to work, I don’t know what we would have done.”

Stiles is appalled. “That’s why you’re so stressed?” he asks, setting his glass back down on the table with a thump. “Derek, you have an entire pack, now. And Dad. And Melissa, and all the parents who trust you to care for their kids all day-- you have the entire town behind you. No matter what happens, Alex will  _ never _ be alone.”

Derek’s expression turns complicated, but Stiles can see the moment it dawns on him. There are a couple of days of broody contemplation after that as Derek thinks it all over, but he eventually comes home with paperwork from their family attorney that includes a list of names he wants Stiles to look over that make up their ‘in case of emergency’ list.

“Yes,” Stiles tells him simply, tossing the folder onto the counter and wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck to nuzzle against him, Alex making weird babbling noises behind him where he’s playing with something on the activity mat he’s lying on by the back door. “Whoever’s on that list is obviously someone you trust, so I say we just leave them all there. Keep the safety net as wide as possible.”

“Okay,” Derek says, his body relaxing against Stiles as he kisses him gently.

“I went by the bank today,” Stiles adds.

“Yeah?” Derek asks distractedly, the kisses he’s pressing to Stiles’ throat scraping with just a hint of teeth.

“Yeah,” Stiles breathes. “Set up an emergency account that will be available to whomever is looking after Alex if something happens to us.”

Derek freezes before drawing back a little. “You did.”

“Yep. And I spoke to some people I know in the court offices and they’ve placed an alert on our names and Alex’s so that if something  _ does _ happen it’ll be flagged as a priority to get wheels moving right away.”

“Why?” Derek demands breathlessly. “Why did you do that? I know you think--”

“Doesn’t matter what I think,” Stiles told him with a careless shrug. “You needed it. I just made some calls.”

“You’re amazing,” Derek tells him, bracketing his face in big, capable hands with the utmost care. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Yes I am,” Stiles tells him assuredly, and the smile he gets in return might be his favourite part of  _ every  _ day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Come look at all the pretty Sterek stuff I post!](http://www.tumblr.com/blog/aussiebee)


End file.
